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Westfield Athenaeum Library

Lecture Series

2010 Spring Lecture Series

Lectures take place on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in the Lang Auditorium, unless otherwise noted. Suggested donation: $5.00 per person per lecture.

                                                                 
Dr. Betty SharpeFebruary 3    Picturing America, with Dr. Elizabeth Sharpe, in conjunction with the Picturing America series exhibit in the Rand Art Museum during February. Funding for this exhibit was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (http://picturingamerica.neh.gov), whose aim with this project was to bring high-quality reproductions of notable American art into public and private schools, libraries, and communities.

Durham CarrollFebruary 24    Tumultuous Affairs: Uncertain Politics and Unlikely Romance During a Turbulent Time, 1964 – 1975, by former TV broadcast journalist Durham Caldwell, from Springfield. Book signing to follow.
         

March

Mayor KnapikMarch 3      An Open Forum with Westfield Mayor Dan Knapik. Come and hear Mayor Knapik’s vision for Westfield and ask him questions about plans for downtown Westfield, future development throughout the City and plans to make Westfield a college town.

Dennis PicardMarch 24      Lieutenant Richard Falley’s Life in Westfield: 1760 – 1810, with Dennis Picard, Director of Storrowton Village Museum, and Richard Colton, Historian at the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, in conjunction with a display of two Falley muskets (one recently acquired and authenticated) and other material relating to Lieutenant Falley.
 

Rob PeckApril 7     Keeping Up in a Down Economy:Motivational speaker Rob Peck will present some comedic relief in celebration with the end of tax season. Co-sponsored by the Westfield Business Improvement District (WBID)  and Westfield on Weekends, Inc. (WOW).

Economy, co-sponsored by the Westfield Business Improvement District

(WBID)  and Westfield on Weekends, Inc. (WOW). Comedic relief in celebration with the end of tax season.

Lori DesrosiersApril 21     A night of Poetry & Music in celebration of National Poetry Month, with Poet Lori Desrosiers.

 

May               

Tom JuravichMay 12 At the Altar of the Bottom Line: The Degradation of Work in the 21st Century

Dr. Tom Juravich, Professor of Labor Studies at the UMass Labor Center, will be speaking about his newest book and CD, At the Altar of the Bottom Line:the Degradation of Work in the 21st Century. Iin conjunction with the exhibit of posters from around the world promoting worker rights called "The Peace Dove," which will be
in the Jasper Rand Art Museum during the month of May.

May 19       Poetry readings with the winners of the Annual Adult Poetry Contest.

June 

Bob LehanBob PlasseJune 2        The Two Roberts: Dramatic readings from Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters and The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco, featuring local actors Bob Lehan, Bob Plasse as well as Carol Palmer, Rocke Palmer, Kathi Palmer, Chuck Weston and Chris Lindquist.
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Too HumanJune 16       Too Human: A Celebration of Song – The American Songbook and Beyond. Jazz duo singer/songwriters Ellen Schwartz and Roger Bruno.

 The Lecture Series is funded in part by Friends of the Westfield Athenaeum 


Previous Speakers

Previous speakers from our Lecture Series have included the following presenters:

Author and columnist Michael Tougias

Author Mike Donovan

Folk art dealer Joan Brownstein

Antiquarian book dealer Ken Gloss

Historian Kevin Sweeney

Author Suzanne Strempek Shea

Author Roland Merullo

Horticulturalist Pernell Gerver

Naturalist Seth Kellogg

Historian Leo Richards

Artist Marie Flahive